Newborn minor physical anomalies and prediction of infant behavior

The relationship between a newborn score of minor physical anomalies (MPAs) and behavior at ages 1 and 2 was examined. From an initial screening population of 933, 63 high anomaly and 78 low anomaly infants were followed until age 2 by examiners blind for the newborn anomaly score. High anomaly infants were more likely to be temperamentally difficult as rated by parent interview and direct observation. A subgroup of six infants who were considered irritable at both ages 1 and 2 were all from the high anomaly group. However, there was little agreement between behavioral ratings across situations and over time, and there were no significant predictors of behavior problems at age 2 based on any newborn or 1-year measure. These results indicate that the newborn anomaly score by itself is unlikely to prove clinically useful in predicting preschool behavior problems for an unselected population. The usefulness of this measure for other, “high-risk,” populations remains to be explored.